music
Buttholes Surf the McDonald
Reverend Brings the Heat
Making fun of the good ol’ boy lifestyle while still representing country is how the Reverend Horton Heat has made a
name for himself. Psychobilly, punkabilly, rockabilly, swing, honky-tonk, the Reverend’s sounds have been called a little bit
of it all. Ever play that old computer game Redneck Rampage where you indiscriminately blast through pseudo-suburban
small town neighborhoods exchanging gunfire with terrifying hicks? Well, the good Reverend’s songs “Nurture My Pig”
and “Wiggle Stick” are heavily featured on the game soundtrack —
he’s all over the place actually, with songs appearing in Daytona 500
broadcasts and TV commercials for Boston Market. He also happens
to have made the theme music for the old Johnny Bravo cartoons.
Nine albums strong and still going, the Reverend continues — he is
as country and punk as you can get, if that combination is truly
possible. On one hand he is the classic twanged-out tale of a man
whose wife left him, took the kid and the dog (named Smokey) — on
the other hand, he is remembered by many as that guy who played
guitar in the stairwell of his Austin dorm building and ran sound at
broke-ass warehouse parties.
Alongside band mates Jimbo Wallace (upright bass/vocals) and
Paul Simmons (drums), the Reverend has taken to creating music
that pushes his vocal talents to the max. His latest album Laughin’
and Cryin’ is actually derived from his attempt to sing as if he is
either on the verge of laughter or tears. With a cult following and a
rip-roaring bring-it-on type of attitude, the mighty Reverend and his
band are touring the country for the next three months. Look to see
up-and-comers Nashville Pussy opening many of the tour dates this
side of the Mississippi.
The Reverend Horton Heat plays 8 pm Wednesday, Sept. 8, at
Nashville Pussy
WOW Hall; $18.50 adv., $20 door. — Dante Zuñiga-West
The founding members of this group are
probably pretty stoked if their band name
offends you. They got it by accident during a
time when they performed under a different
name each time they took the stage.
San Antonio natives who used to publish a
magazine showcasing abnormal medical ailments
and sell homemade clothing screen-printed with
Lee Harvey Oswald’s visage, these guys rocked
the show where Kurt Cobain met Courtney Love
— they opened for Dead Kennedys at the request
of Jello Biafra and stalked members of R.E.M. for
sport. They are the Butthole Surfers.
This is a band that mixes esoteric weirdo
content and pop culture flawlessly. Well-known for
the hit song “Pepper,” which blasted through
every alternative rock radio station in the country
during the late ‘90s, the Buttholes aren’t just a
one-hit wonder phenomenon, they are a legendary
freak show that made it big. One need only look at
the titles of their many albums to catch how brash
and strange these guys are — with names like
Locus Abortion Technician, Rembrandt Pussyhorse
and Independent Worm Saloon, you can’t really
say they aren’t warning you up front.
The Buttholes have content and style that
resembles a lovechild of Beck Hansen (the Beck,
as in “I’m a loser baby”) and the late great
comedian Bill Hicks. They are brazen, talented,
and so offbeat you wonder how they made it into
the mainstream of American music. It is no
surprise that their songs have shown up in
movies as oddly popular and uncanny as they
are, such as Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, or
Escape from L.A.
Though the band has undergone massive
personnel changes since their original formation,
the oddball founding fathers Gibby Haynes
(vocals/guitar/sax) and Paul Leary (guitar/vocals)
remain at their posts. Complemented by King
Coffey on drums and Jeff Pinkus on bass, the
Buttholes are still doing what they do best,
putting on outrageous stage shows that leave
listeners wondering — WTF just happened?
The Butthole Surfers play 8 pm Friday, Sept.
2, at the McDonald Theatre; $25-$30. — Dante
Zuñiga-West
Homegrown Ska
In Eugene, we grow musicians, and The Longshots are a home-grown Eugene ska-band with a sound combining reggae,
jazz, dub, funk and punk rock. The six-piece entourage of musicians is a force to be reckoned with. Shane Connor (vocals/
guitar), Blake Hoshibata (sax) Tom Wade (guitar), Ben Hampton (bass), Eric Johnson (drums) and Justin Canfield (sax/
trombone) pride themselves on sounding like “ten gorillas having a dance party in your brain” and project a lively stage show.
This band sounds like they belong raging in the background of a kick-ass skate video or playing an outdoor stage
someplace warm — they can crank out dance tunes and songs that put you right into chill-mode. Years ago The Longshots
would have been a perfect fit for a packed Tuesday night gig at the now-defunct Jo Federigo’s club. In that regard, as a
spitfire multi-instrumental powerhouse, they kind of pick up where the local jazz/reggae/funk band Natural Progression
left off. Stylistically, The Longshots are something like the Skatalites mixed with Black Square, and they are soon to be
featured on EW’s upcoming Next Big Thing CD.
The Longshots are big band music that is best served live and in your face. These guys are on a trajectory that could
put them in the bigger venues of other towns soon; they are the type of openers capable of upstaging headliners if the
conditions are right and spirit is with them — they are definite crowd-pleasers. The Longshots have a multifaceted sound
that is as infectious as it is intoxicating and Connor’s vocals are a perfect complement to the menagerie of horns and
well-proportioned guitar riffs that support him. Frequently gigging the Portland scene and all over Eugene stages, The
Longshots are paying their dues as a rising local band and doing so with style.
The Longshots play 9:30 pm Saturday, Sept. 3, at Sam Bond’s Garage; $5 — Dante Zuñiga-West
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EUGENE WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 21